I had a very detailed and well thought out review which took me an hour to compose, but it was magically erased somehow thanks to my large sausage fingers.
Long story short...
Place is way too small and hard to find, but the real story is that they are VERY rude And mis quoted prices and act as if they are doing you a favor selling you stuff.
I hated my experience here and was treated very poorly even after spending over $200.
I would rather order everything from somewhere else even if I lived across the street from this place.
The most pretentious beer people I've ever met.
If your not good with people hire someone who is.
Will NEVER go back to this place.

As a newbe to the homebrewing scene, this place is great. Small, but friendly and well stocked. I came in to upgrade my Coopers Lager that came with the DIY kit - just wanted some hops. Ryan was very helpful and provided a lot of good advice. Ended up taking home a partial kit for next time along with the hops I came in for. I will definately be back even though it's a bit of a drive for me.

Why is there a minimum of 500 characters for posting a review? Seems pretty sensless to me. But, I had to type even more so that this would be posted. I hope that this isn't deleted just because I'm not long-winded!

My LHBS is one of the few local Homebrew stores around the DC area. It's somewhat tucked away in a small strip across the street from Dogfish Brew Pub in Falls Church. The help has been great for me. I'm just getting into the hobby, and everyone I've dealt with has been friendly and very helpful. They've had pretty much everything I've been looking for, and have answered every noob question I've asked them without any kind of vibe. They've even helped me carry stuff out to my car when I would have made two trips to get everything. Prices have been VERY competitive from what I've seen. I will continue to give My LHBS my business- what a great resource for the DC area!

Somewhat hard to find until you use Dogfish and the Sears as landmarks. Parking is iffy nearby, but okay father away.

Very cramped inside. Decent selection. Good prices. There simply is not room for a great selection. There simply is no room for brewing equipment like you would see in most stores. All the important ingredients are there, with the exception of enough liquid malt selection.

Some posters stated the owner and salesman can be douchey. I saw no sign of this, the owner was polite and helpful.

Stopped in the other day as I couldn't find my racking cane after a big move. I was getting ready to bottle so I'm glad this place was available to me.

Yes it is a small place but it seems they have about everything you would need. The customer service was fine on my visit and I didn't pick up on any attitude or anything of the sort. Seemed knowledgeable and more than willing to help answer any questions I had.

I only bought an auto siphon, bottling wand, and some tubing and the prices were fair, I think about $16 for all three. My only complaint is the tubing I bought was the wrong gauge for the wand and siphon. I'm not sure if there were different sizes all sitting next to each other or what but I wish it was better marked. Oh well it was my fault for not checking.

I've got two choices for LHBS--this place or absent-minded-hole-in-the-wall shop in Clifton VA. Regarding My LHBS, I'm not sure if the owner is apprenticing his younger employee in being an ass, but it's contagious. Employees, particularly the owner, are routinely rude and give you shit for trying to shop and buy something within an hour of closing time.

The latest episode occurred today after I filled my hand basket with ingredients for an Aventinus clone. Two of the grain bags I grabbed were 10# pre-packaged unmilled sacks. When I got to the register, with the sign stating "$0.15/# TO MILL GRAINS" in the background, the apprentice told me they won't mill the bags. And that most people buy their own mills. Gee, thanks for the advice. (My experience is very similar to what Jaguar10301 experienced (see his review of My LHBS) trying to get pre-bagged grains milled.)

This place is in the weeds when more than 3 people are in the shop. They act like pricks and expect the customer thank them for merely existing. Good luck, gang. I have no problem buying from good shops online.

I have only been to 2 home brew shops in my time. I primarily order my stuff online. And from my experience here, that won't change.

I bought my primary supplies there when I first started brewing. They insisted I get 1 fermenter with a spigot and 1 without, even though I wanted two with. Every time I have to transfer from my secondary to a bucket with a spigot, I can feel my teeth grind a bit.

Another time I went in to get the ingredients for a recipe I got out of Sam from DFH's book. So I knew exactly what I wanted. One of the guys tried to dissuade me, and purchase something different. This was only my 4th batch, so I was kind of a noob, but I was getting the recipe directly from Sam. After I told him this, he kinda backed off and sold me what I wanted.

The last time I was there, I was brewing cider and a beer. I had gotten the grain from Midwest, but needed to repitch yeast. And since I needed the cider yeast...So I went, and when I just got 2 yeasts and some caps, the guy that checked me out made a really rude comment about how I must have bought all the grain for my beer online. Of course, I *COULD* have just needed to repitch my beer that I made from their grain. He couldn't have known.

The store is real small and the kits are overpriced. It's too bad Annapolis is a much longer drive.

I've been to this shop twice since moving to the Falls Church/Arlington area. It's really the only one in the area, so the stock turnover is pretty quick, which means the materials are usually pretty fresh.

It's a small shop, but pretty much packed from wall to wall with brewing equipment, which doesn't leave a whole lot of room to move. Both times I have gone for supplies the owner has been helpful: offering advice on recipes and making sure that you know how to store materials.

As I mentioned, the shop is small, which means that even though it's packed with materials, the selection is not huge, but they have equipment, loose ingredients and ingredient kits.

If you want to start brewing, or if you're a seasoned brewer, it's a good place to go if you live in the Falls Church area.

I started homebrewing by someone who went to the annapolis homebrew shop, so I've been brewing close to a year am all grain now and am used to excellent service.

I had stopped at mylhbs once before because i needed a hydrometer and to check it out, they are only 20 minutes from my house versus the 45 minutes to annapolis home brew.

On my first visit I wasn't impressed with helpfulness of the guy working behind the counter and the store was very small. So I basically figured I could use it if I needed something in a pinch but I would keep my primary store which was further.

This weekend I had my first pinch. I needed wheat malt, wyeast 3068 and some other assorted brewing products and we didn't want to drive all the way to the other shop. So I thought I would give it a shot.

They had just opened and at first offered help. I then found out they only sold pre-bagged grain, they also told me that they could not mill the 8lbs 10 oz of wheat malt I needed, but then said they would do it this one time only, but kept bringing it up as I got the other things I needed and were VERY rude about it. Look if you can't do it, thats fine, you should put something on your website about not milling the day of, but just don't do it. Don't tell me you'll do me this favor and then continue to be complete jerks about it.

They told me to leave for 15 to 30 minutes and come back for it, I did when I got home I noticed they didn't mill the whole 10 lbs of the bag (had to buy 10) When I got to brewing I realized they only milled 8lbs and I had to hand roll with a rolling pin the other 10 oz I needed.

Also the yeast was much older than the yeast I usually get at my primary shop. it was dated in sept, its now nov.

So in short, can't buy any amount of grain you want, won't crush it for you without advanced notice, and were very rude.

This is a pretty good store seeing as it's one of the few in NOVA. I've been here about 10 times and usually get what I need. Prices are reasonable with good quality products. Derek, the owner, is very helpful and knowledgeable. Occasionally he's out of a specific yeast but helpful in finding a suitable replacement. For such a tiny store there's quite a bit of selection. He's got a good selection of kegging and all-grain hardware. Although I prefer the convenience of ordering online, I will trek all the way to his shop through one of the slowest, most annoying intersections in NOVA to get what I need for a last minute brew. I also think it's important to support the local homebrew industry, what little is left, so I make a trip every once in a while just because.

I find myself only going to this store because there isn't another brew shop near. It's just not a one-shop store. I have had to go to Home Depot after leaving to get more equipment and if there are two customers in the store you should probably just wait outside. This store is honestly the size of my shower.

One major detail about this shop that I don't understand is that it's not open on Sundays. As a home brewer I find this very odd because like many other I only have time to make beer on the weekend.

Other than the store hours and space My LHBS really isn't a bad shop. It's just not the best.

The times that I have been to My LHBS have been different each time. I can see how some people say that Derrick(sp)can be a douche. He does try to quiz you on brewing knowledge and comes off like a know it all. Other times he has been helpful and does know what he is talking about. If he wants be a douche and only charge $44.95 a sack for 2 row, then so be it. Price on other things are also good. He will try to steer you toward purchasing what he has in stock, but will order anything you need. I go there to get beer stuff, not make friends. It would be nice to have both, but I have a enough friends.

This place is a little hard to find. If I wouldn't have been determined to find this place, I would have given up. You have to drive around to the backside, once I was there I was pretty happy.

The place is pretty small but it is packed to the ceiling with stuff. I was surprised I was able to moved around as easily as I could while I was there. There were two people working and I was the only one in the store. They said that it has been "slow" lately so I hope that doesn't mean that they are in trouble. They had a decent selection of equipment including better bottle fermenters. One wall was covered with prepackaged kits and another was covered with 1 / 3 / 10 pound bags of different grain. One of the employees told me that they sold bulk grain (55 pound bags as well).

They charged me to crush 3 pounds of grain, that kind of annoyed me but it was only 50 cent a pound, if i were crushing 20 pounds I would just by a mill.

Their website leaves a lot to be desired. Seriously, hire a 14 year old kid to make you a decent webpage. There is close to no information that is useful at all on there. Completely annoying.

I started brewing beer this last summer and Derek has been a real nice guy about helping me out. I've brewed about 4 batches using ingredients from his store and they've all came out great. I've since been living in North Carolina and the brew store down here is garbage compared to what he has and the knowledge that he offers. He is a very sharp guy and can explain difficult concepts very well and has a lot of information memorized. I've also brewed two of his recipes, the shipwreck IPA and the Extreme Steam California Common, both of which were truly fantastic. The store is well organized and everything is well stocked.

I've been shopping at myLHBS since my favorite shop in Fairfax moved to NC in 2007, and I've been pleased with the quality, service and know-how at myLHBS. Derek does come across as a bit of a know-it-all sometimes, but for the most part he backs it up pretty well. He's brewed just about everything, knows his ingredients cold, and never hesitates to recommend (or try something you're brewing). All the equipment you'd need is also in this tiny store, so no complaints there. It's not in the most convenient place, but as someone else mentioned, it's not like Northern VA has a homebrew shop on every corner.

I really like this place. It's hidden in a small shopping center near Seven Corners, which is a nasty driving area around commute times. Proximity to the DFH brewpub is a bonus, though.

It's a small shop, but I've never had a problem finding what I wanted. Derek has a solid grain selection and a good variety of recipe kits, including some kits that he has put together himself. I've only tried one of these, but it beat anything I've bought elsewhere. He also has almost all of the gadgets and additives you might want for beer, wine, or mead-making. My only real gripe with the selection is the lack of honey, since I enjoy mead, but whatever - not a big deal.

Staff has always been great here. Always very friendly and very helpful. The recipe of the month is a cool idea, and if you give it a try, chances are Derek is brewing it as well, and will be happy to compare notes.

All in all this is a place that makes the hobby a lot more convenient and enjoyable for me, whether I'm looking for a cool new recipe or I'm just in need of some some grain bags in a hurry.

This is a very nice homebrew shop. It is not huge, but they have everthing you need and enough to keep things interesting. Derek will order anything you want, and pre smack yeasts, crush grains, assemble phoned in orders; Great Customer service. He has it all from beer, wine, soda ingredients; as wll as basic brewing equipment to more advance all grain and kegging equipment in stock. He is good for advice and suggestions; plus he can give you yeast charachteristcs from his head. The prices are about the same as most of the bigger mail order homebrew shops, so why pay for the shipping?

Since moving down to Arlington 6 months ago this has been my homebrew shop of choice. Make sure to read the instructions on their webpage before you go because its a bit hard to find on your first time there, but well worth the effort.

Quality  Generally very good. I did get a smack pack of yeast that was 4 months old, but it swelled up fine and started fermenting in under 24 hours. Hops and grain always seem pretty fresh.

Service  Derek is a really nice guy always happy to special order anything he doesnt have on hand. He is also happy to give out advice when you solicited it, he and I have both been doing some brettanomyces beers so that what we normally end up talking about even if I am brewing something unrelated.

Selection  Its the best LHBS Ive had in terms of selection, but it wont blow you away. Nice selection of interesting specialty grains, chocolate rye, caramel wheat, brown malt, acidulated malt etc but it can be lacking in base malts, they have Muntons MO, but no Golden Promise or other interesting pale malts. Solid yeast selection, Wyeast and dry yeast only.

Glad to have it in the area particularly because Jays just announced that regulations are forcing them to close their walk in business.

Edit: They also just started carrying Green Coffee beans, a definite plus for me.

My first and ONLY brew shop that I'll use. My LHBS is a great little shop with the type of service one would expect from a small business. Derek is very well versed in the brewing of beer and is always happy to pass on his knowledge, experience, and stories onto his customers. The hours are pretty flexible at the shop and Derek is always willing to make himself available to his customers. The selection of grains, malts, yeasts, hops, equipment, etc. is continually growing and IMO is pretty darn good already (though I am new at this stuff ... my second brew is carbonating in the keg as we speak). If you're a beginner or an old salt, I would highly suggest doing business with Derek. He's honest, hardworking, and very dependable. The service from My LHBS is exceptional!!

Located in a non-descript office building in the Seven Corners area, My LHBS is a small shop that shares space with another business in the building. The owner, Derek Terrell, was extremely accomodating, especially to a first time home brewer like myself. He listened to what I want to do and recommended the appropriate the equipment and ingredient kit that he puts together himself. He is the former manager of Brew America in Merrifield, Va and brewed for Potomac River Brewing Company. He will order anything you need if he doesn't have it in stock and keeps a pretty wide array of specialty malts and yeast in stock. Ingredient kits are limited to Brewers Best and his own. Derek also puts out an email newsletter with a recipe of the month, this months being a Dead Guy clone since he has the Rogue yeast in stock. I look forward to using My LHBS again. Service was great, you can call or email Derek will any questions you have during the brewing process. I didn't feel like I was over my head when talking with him. Check out the place, its convenient to most of NoVa, DC and suburban MD.

This is a brand new hombrew shop for the Northern Virginia/DC Metro area. It's run by a guy named Derek who used to work at Brew America, which some of you may remember was located in the Merrifield area (I think they also had another shop in NoVa). Brew America closed down in the late 90's as the homebrew industry crashed.

Derek has opened this new shop - My Local-Home-Brew-Store (My LHBS) - in response to the relative dearth of home brew stores in the DC metro area, especially on the Virginia side.

His selection right now is not huge, but he is getting new shipments of materials every week and within a few weeks should be fully stocked. Plus he'll order absolutely anything you want. He is very, very accomodating and will work with you to get you what you want and in whatever quantities. He has a full selection of Wyeast XL smack packs on hand, and will order any other yeast you want.

Prices are average as far as I can tell. His hours are currently Tu-Sa, something like 10-4, but check the website. He'll also stay open late if he knows you're coming to pick something up. Be sure to get directions from him the first time you go there as the location is a bit odd - basically a back room in the office he uses for his other business. Convienently located in the Seven Corners area of Falls Church.